MySpace Music almost a Wrap

Watch out Steve! MySpace is days away from unveiling a site that actually may give Apple’s iTunes some competition in the digital music space.
Sources familiar with the matter tell Reuters that a joint venture between MySpace and at least three major music companies offering music streaming, MP3 downloads, concert tickets, ringtones and merchandise is just days away.
Sony BMG Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music will have a stake in the venture they hope will take a bite out of Apple’s grip on their industry. It’s unclear if EMI Group, the fourth-largest music label, will be involved.
The labels have been talking for weeks with News Corp’s MySpace, but a 2006 copyright lawsuit by market leader Universal against MySpace has been a sticking point. Imagine a music company suing over copyright! One source said that suit could be settled in time for the announcement.
It’s not clear when MySpace Music would be launched.
All the companies either declined to comment or were not immediately available.
Long singing the blues over Apple’s strong-armed pricing tactics, some big labels have refused to sign long-term deals with iTunes, now the No. 2 music retailer in the U.S.
Will MySpace Music hit a chord with Steve Jobs, who may finally need to change his tune to sweeten the pot for the record companies?

This is a blatant attempt on the part of the labels to raid what was ostensibly a home for independent artists, but it shows how desperate they are to maintain their declining market power. And the fact that MySpace is willing to let them raid their user base shows that MySpace is not really serious about the independent market. So where does that leave the artists on MySpace, who will now have to cut through even more distractions as the majors spam and shill their artists all over the site? It’s looking bad for MySpace, in my opinion. Whether this is a competitor for iTunes or not is not the point. It’s understood that the labels don’t like Apple’s deal, they’re greedy and want to charge more money for their subpar product. That’s normal for them. What matters is that this changes nothing for the artists or the fans, and it may even be worse for both.